The Lost Sheep of Israel’s Shepherd

Dear Friends,

In this letter, we will
explore a third way in
which spiritual outreach
to our brethren enables
us to fulfill the
mitzvah to return that
which is lost. Our
exploration will begin
through citing the
opening verse from Psalm
23 – a psalm of our
people which has also
become a source of
inspiration, comfort,
and hope for many
spiritual individuals
from other peoples:

“A Song of David: Hashem
is my shepherd, I shall
not want.”

King David felt that
Hashem, the
Compassionate and
Life-Giving One, was his
Shepherd. As we know, a
psalm can have several
levels of meaning. For
example, Midrash
Tehillim on Psalm 23
teaches that this psalm
is also the song of
Israel; thus, King David
is expressing the song
of his people. In this
song, Israel is saying,
“Hashem is my shepherd!”
The Midrash explains
that this is a reference
to the way Hashem guided
Israel and provided
Israel with all its
needs during the journey
from Egypt to the
Promised Land. This
interpretation is
supported by the
following verse in a
later psalm:

“Then He caused His
people to journey like
sheep, and guided them
like a flock in the
wilderness.” (Psalm
78:52)

In another psalm, David
addresses Hashem as,
“Shepherd of Israel”
(Psalm 80:2). In
addition, David refers
to Israel as “the sheep
of His pasture” (Psalm
100:3).

It can happen that sheep
will stray from the
shepherd and get lost.
The same is true with
the “sheep” of Israel.
Some of the lost sheep
of Israel do not know
how to find the way
back. Some have even
forgotten that they are
part of the flock of
Israel and that their
Shepherd yearns for
their return. In all
such cases, it is a
mitzvah to help these
lost sheep to return to
their Shepherd.

The following prophecies
reveal the Divine
promise that the
Shepherd of Israel will
eventually gather His
flock. As we previously
explained, the
references to the
ingathering of our
people can refer to both
a physical and spiritual
return:

“For thus said the
Master of All, Hashem,
God: Behold, I am here,
and I will seek out My
sheep, and I will tend
them. As a shepherd
tends his flock on the
day he is among his
scattered sheep, so I
will tend to My sheep
and rescue them from all
the places where they
were scattered on the
day of cloud and
darkness.” (Ezekiel 34:
11. 12)

Hashem adds:

“For the lost I will
search; the banished I
will retrieve; the
broken I will bind; the
ill I will strengthen”
(Ezekiel 34:16).

May we all be blessed
with a good homecoming.

Shalom,

Yosef Ben Shalom Hakohen
(See below)

Related Teachings and
Insights:

1. There was a period in
the life of King David
when he felt that he had
strayed from Hashem, his
Shepherd; thus, he
prayed:

“I have strayed like a
lost sheep; seek Your
servant, for I have not
forgotten Your mitzvos.”
(Psalm 119:176)

When we stray like a
lost sheep, we can pray
to Hashem, our Shepherd,
to help us return.

2. In a previous series,
we discussed the deep
metaphysical teaching
cited by the Vilna Gaon
which reveals that the
human being was created
with the traits of each
of the creatures within
the creation (commentary
to Genesis 1:26). The
human being is to
therefore dedicate each
of these diverse traits
to serving the
life-giving Divine
purpose. For example,
the above teachings in
this letter remind us
that we have the trait
of sheep within us;
thus, this trait can be
used by following the
life-giving path of our
Shepherd. (A copy of the
Vilna Gaon’s teaching
can be sent to you upon
request.)

3. Following the
Festival of Succos, we
have the celebration of
“Simchas Torah” – the
Joy of the Torah. During
this celebration, some
communities have the
following custom which
reminds us that we are
to be the holy sheep of
the Holy Shepherd:

At the completion of a
cycle of dancing with
the Torahs, someone
calls out to the
congregation, Tzon
Kedoshim! – Holy
Sheep! Everyone then
responds by bleating,
Baa.